How to Move Exchange Server 2003 to New Hardware and Keep the Same Server Name

Topic Last Modified: 2007-02-19

This section explains how to move a Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 (Enterprise or Standard edition) to a new computer, and explains how to keep the same server name on the new hardware.

To move Exchange 2003 to a new computer and keep the same server name, the new computer must have the same operating system installed as the original computer. To move Exchange 2003 to the new computer, follow the procedure below.

Make a full backup of all the Exchange 2003 storage groups and the Site Replication Service (SRS) database on the existing Exchange 2003 computer.

Take the existing Exchange 2003 computer offline.

Reset the computer account for the existing Exchange 2003 computer. To do so, follow these steps:

Start Active Directory Users and Computers.

Locate the computer account for the existing Exchange 2003 computer, right-click the computer account, and then click Reset Account.

Bring the new computer online, and then confirm that the new computer is running the same operating system that was installed on the existing Exchange 2003 computer.

Note:

Make sure the new computer has a unique computer name on the network.

Rename the new computer to the same name as the original computer, and then join this computer to the domain.

Note:

You must not delete the original computer account from the domain before you join the new computer to the domain. Additionally, do not delete the original Exchange server from Exchange System Manager.

Use an Exchange 2003 Full Administrator account to log on to the new computer.

Install any components that Exchange 2003 requires, such as the NNTP service, the SMTP service, and the World Wide Web service.

Configure drive letters on the new server to map to or match the configuration of the old server, for drives that contained Exchange data, with sufficient space to accommodate the restored data.

Run Exchange 2003 Setup with the following parameter:

Setup /disasterrecovery

Make sure that you click Action-Disaster Recovery for the Messaging and Collaboration services and for Exchange System Management Tools.

When the Setup program has completed, install the Exchange 2003 service pack that was installed on the existing server by using the /disasterrecovery switch.

Examine the registry to see if the following registry subkey exists:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Exchange\Setup

If the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Exchange\Setup subkey does not exist, add a DWORD value and the following hexadecimal value, based on the service pack value:

DWORD value name: ServicePackBuild

Hexadecimal value: number

The number for the hexadecimal value varies based on the service pack as follows:

The hexadecimal number for the original release version without a service pack installed is 1B20

The hexadecimal number for Service Pack 1 is 1C3A

The hexadecimal number for Service Pack 2 is 1DD6

Install any Exchange 2003 post-service pack hotfixes that were installed on the existing server.

In separate restoration jobs, restore the storage groups and the Site Replication Service (SRS) database from the Exchange 2003 server backup.

Mount all the stores after the restoration is complete. Make sure that clients can connect and that mail can flow.

Note If the IP address of the Exchange 2003 computer changes, make sure that you update Domain Name System (DNS) records. If you do not update DNS records, other servers may try to connect to the previous address.